Cummins Jamestown Engine Plant employees volunteered their time to assist members of the Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy (CWC) with a restoration project along the Chadakoin River Thursday. From left, Kenneth Gutierrez Martinez, Jody Glover, Mike Davis, Joe Rubrecht, Bill Suroviec, Twan Leenders and Daniel Conklin of the Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy, and Allison Turner take a picture after river- restoration operations. Submitted photo

Cummins Inc.’s Jamestown Engine Plant is helping power the transformation of the Chadakoin River in Jamestown.

The river has been receiving a revitalization extreme makeover courtesy of the Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy. Recently, six Cummins Jamestown Engine Plant employees lent their time to the project.

“We had six of our employees volunteer their time to help with the revitalization and clean up efforts along the river,” said Cummins Jamestown Engine Plant Community Relations Coordinator Jennifer Lundmark. “We’re trying to help revitalize the river’s shoreline and help make it a living shoreline.”

According to Twan Leenders, Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy director of conservation, the restoration of the river is an ongoing project, and one in which Cummins JEP has not only supported manpower-hours, but backed financially as well.

“This project is a continuation of the Chadakoin river bank restoration project funded by the city of Jamestown through an allocation of ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) funds, with additional funding made available through the ‘Cummins Water Works’ program, as part of Cummins corporate responsibility efforts. After removal of all dead and diseased trees along the bank this winter and stabilization of the failing banks, we are now entering the next phase where we are adding native vegetation to the newly restored bank sections. These ‘nature-based solutions’ are considered the best management practice for effectively and sustainably protecting the health of the river. The deep-rooted plants that we are installing in the next few weeks will capture and filter stormwater runoff, hold together the soil, and will provide a living shoreline that can recover on its own from any future storm damage (unlike a retaining wall, or a rocks-only bank),” Leenders said.

However, for the Cummins crew members, volunteering in the community is second nature for them and part of the company’s corporate atmosphere.

“From corporate management down to our plant manager, Shawn Hricko, employees are not only encouraged to volunteer and be part of our community, but are also incentivized to do so,” said Lundmark. ” Every employee is paid up to four-hours of wages to volunteer in our community. It is very much part of our corporate culture to find things that are meaningful to our employees and to help.”

Lundmark said that environmental issues, education, and quality of life are primary targets for volunteers and support from the company.

“Within those three key-fields our employees really have a vast platform of things to choose to support from,” she said.

Leenders added, “The great thing about getting volunteer help from the community is that it introduces people first hand to all these great benefits. Every time we host an event like this, I hear the same thing: people know about the Chadakoin River, and the Riverwalk, but hardly anyone has ever gotten out of their car to take a closer look. After spending a few hours working on improving this amazing community resource, they are invariably inspired by what they’ve seen. More often than not, volunteers will come back for future work parties or, at the very least, come back at a later date to see how their efforts have helped make the river a more beautiful place. I think that is truly the best aspect of these volunteer efforts – that participants feel more connected to the river and its well-being, and that they realize that it is a resource for everyone that can only thrive if we all pitch in and choose to care.”

Leenders said in the next few weeks the next phase of the revitalization plan calls for installing lots of plants along the riverbed, and anyone who wants to help is most welcomed.